"Sparrow" is a song by Scottish singer-songwriter

Emeli Sandé Adele Emily Sandé, ( ; born 10 March 1987), known professionally as Emeli Sandé, is a Scottish singer and songwriter. Born in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, and raised in Alford, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, by an English mother and a Zambian father ...

. It was released on 15 March 2019 by

Virgin EMI Records Virgin EMI Records was a British record label owned by the Universal Music Group that was formed in 2013. In June 2020, the label was rebranded as EMI Records, and operates Virgin Records as an imprint of the new EMI Records. History Virgi ...

as the lead single from her third studio album, ''

Real Life Real life is a phrase used originally in literature to distinguish between the real world and fictional, virtual or idealized worlds, and in acting to distinguish between actors and the characters they portray. It has become a popular term on the ...

''. "Sparrow" was written by Sandé primarily, with Laidi Saliasi credited as an additional songwriter. The track was produced by percussionist Troy Miller, with Sandé serving as a co-producer. The song, a

power ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner.J. ...

with

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

influences, features lyrics which Sandé described as being inspired by the "intoxicating positivity" of Nigerian musician

Fela Kuti Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti (born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti; 15 October 1938 – 2 August 1997), also known as Abami Eda, was a Nigerian musician, bandleader, composer, political activist, and Pan-Africanist. He is regarded as the pi ...

Background and recording

Sandé sent demos of the song to producer Troy Miller, who she was familiar with due to his work with British musician

Laura Mvula Laura Mvula ( Douglas; born 23 April 1986) is a British singer. A native of Birmingham, England, Mvula has gained experience as a young member or leader of a cappella, jazz/neo-soul and gospel groups and choirs. She was classically trained. In ...

. Sandé referred to wanting a "militant, marching beat" prominent in the track. Miller wrote the string arrangements for "Sparrow", and recorded the instrumentation with the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music ...

in London.

Release

The track was first announced through Sandé's

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account on 11 March 2019, four days prior to release. "Sparrow" was released on 15 March 2019 through British record label

, as the lead single from Sandé's upcoming third studio album. It was sent to radio formats that same day, and premiered through

Zoe Ball Zoe Louise Ball (born 23 November 1970) is a British radio and television presenter. She was the first female host of both '' Radio 1 Breakfast'' and '' The Radio 2 Breakfast Show'' for the BBC, and presented the 1990s children's show ''Live & ...

's breakfast radio show on

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

. On the same day, Sandé performed "Sparrow" live on 15 March 2019 at

Elstree Studios Elstree Studios is a generic term which can refer to several current and demolished British film studios and television studios based in or around the town of Borehamwood and village of Elstree in Hertfordshire, England. Production studios ha ...

for the charity

telethon A telethon (a portmanteau of "television" and "marathon") is a televised fundraising event that lasts many hours or even days, the purpose of which is to raise money for a charitable, political or other purportedly worthy cause. Most telethons f ...

event

Comic Relief Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension. Definition Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic epis ...

Music video

The music video for "Sparrow" was released on 26 March 2019. The video, directed by Sarah McColgan and edited by Ernie Gilbert, was shot in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. According to ''

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'', the video "explores themes of strength, movement and freedom".

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from

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, provided by

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch–American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

. * Emeli Sandé – lead vocals, music production * Troy Miller – music production, recording engineering, mix engineering, vocal arrangement, string arrangement, drums, piano,

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated ...

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, baritone guitar * Dani Spragg – recording engineering * Robbie Nelson – recording engineering * Jonathan Allen – recording engineering * Miles Showell – mastering * Priscilla Jones-Campbell – background vocals, choir * Subrina McCalla – background vocals * Adeola Shyllon – background vocals * Joy Farruka – choir * Cherri Kirton – choir * Phebe Edwards – choir * Marsha Morrison – choir * Heavily Sapong – choir * James Thompson – choir * Xavier Barnet – choir * Jaz Ellington – choir * Clare Duckworth – violin * Ginette Decuyper – violin * Laura Dixon – violin * Gerald Gregory – violin * Maxine Kwok-Adams – violin * Claire Parfitt – violin * Sylvain Vasseur – violin * Julian Gil Rodriguez – violin * Thomas Norris – violin * Matthew Gardner – violin * Belinda Mcfarlane – violin * Iwona Muszynska – violin * Csilla Pogany – violin * Edward Vanderspar – viola * Malcolm Johnston – viola * Anna Bastow – viola * German Clavijo – viola * Carol Ella – viola * Robert Turner – viola * Rebecca Gilliver – cello * Alastair Blayden – cello * Noel Bradshaw – cello * Eve-Marie Caravassilis – cello * Daniel Gardner – cello * Hilary Jones – cello * Colin Paris – double bass * Patrick Laurence – double bass * Matthew Gibson – double bass

Charts

Release history

References

External links

* {{Emeli Sandé 2019 songs 2019 singles 2010s ballads Emeli Sandé songs Pop ballads Soul ballads Torch songs Virgin EMI Records singles Songs written by Emeli Sandé